When it comes to a story by John Ridley, I have a lot of expectations as to what I’m walking in to. I fully expect to be entertained by well-rounded characters who show depth. I fully expect to be challenged as far as my beliefs and thoughts. I hope there’s going to be some solid action. So far, his run on Black Panther has delivered all of that and more. Black Panther #2 picks up on T’Challa attempting to figure out who is attacking his undercover agents and also recalling them home from their mission.
Ridley has brought Black Panther down to Earth, literally and figuratively. No longer focused on galactic matters, he’s a King in transition as his country moves towards Democracy. He’s also a King that is dealing with the decisions of the past in his agents placed around the world ready to sow disruption if needed. Someone knows of his plan and is attempting to kill his agents. But who?
Along with a person who is clearly struggling with his decisions, Ridley is delivering a T’Challa that’s somewhat paranoid. He thinks it could be the Avengers that are doing this. It could be someone else. Lets face it, it most likely is. But, the fact that this man who has been shown to be so sure of himself isn’t, is a hell of a change. It creates a character who is now fallible. He can make mistakes and likely has made them.
And with all of that, we still get a hell of a lot of action. The comic has explosions and solid fights and more than enough to deliver a solid action basis. We’re getting a little bit of everything with the series.
The art by Juann Cabal is solid. With color by Federico Blee and lettering by Joe Sabino, the comic delivers a mix of everything. There’s the action as mentioned but there’s also humor and some very human moments. There’s a good balance of the big budget moments and the quieter ones where you can see the character reflecting on their decisions and moments. Cabal and the art team deliver a very human visual look at superheroes. It’s subtle and grounded.
Black Panther #2 is another fantastic issue. And that shouldn’t be surprising. Ridley and the rest of the creative team have put out fantastic comics in the past so, it’s not surprising they continue to. The series gives us a much more human look at T’Challa and a King who isn’t perfect. It’s superhero action that shows mistakes can be made and decisions can hurt others. It truly takes Black Panther from his cosmic adventures and brings him back to Earth.
Story: John Ridley Art: Juann Cabal
Color: Federico Blee Letterer: Joe Sabino
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW
Source: Graphic Policy
